Kurawaka. the journey home

Originating from Rangiātea, I am a seed carried across generations of tūpuna wāhine.
Taking root in a storm of electric energy.

Te kōpū embodied me for ten weeks.
Te pū, te more, te weu, te aka, te rea. Te waonui, te kune, te kore, te pō.
A long, dark, night.

Beating for seven weeks, an instinctual rhythm of hearts.
Hormones pulsed throughout her.
Our path was destined by whakapapa.

Red soil shed around me, separating my whenua from te kōpū.
I set off for Kurawaka.

Days passed, transitioning through sacred channels.
Gently massaged by te kōpū.
I reached the realm of Hine-nui-te-pō.

She received me in awe, inspecting me with tender curiosity.
The missing piece to a broken heart.
My tinana laid in state for one night.

A wave of grief gushed over her, my wairua clinging tight.
Transplanted in a storm of spiritual vibrations.
Te kōpū o Papatūānuku.

Days passed, wairua traversing te ao kikokiko.
She clung to me.
Clouded by a cloak of darkness.

I travelled in the dreams of kaitiaki.
Translating tohu, tikanga.
In search of rongoā.

Her karanga transcended te ao wairua.
Uprooting the terrestrial threads left binding.
Each hotu, releasing what remained of me.

I am a seed, resting at the roots of rākau.
Blooming, rich hues of kōwhai.
Tohu, drawing her back to me.

I am a kaitiaki, travelling with kōtare.
Observing, a celestial silhouette.
Tohu, leading me back to her.

E Te Tohu o Te Kōtare, hoki wairua mai